Andrew Carrabba takes a slice out of international pizza competition

Andrew Carrabba cuts an example of his award-winning pizza. The traditional pizza placed first in a region competition and fourth overall during the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas, March 1-3.

Andrew Carrabba and his little brother, Paulie, stand outside Paulie’s Coal Fired Pizza, with the restaurant’s most recent accolade, a first-place finish in Region I of the International Pizza Competition.

Andrew Carrabba’s recipe for a good pizza is simple. Use high heat, fresh ingredients and love what you’re doing.

Andrew, 23, was not only the youngest competitor at the 2011 International Pizza Competition in Las Vegas earlier this month, but he also won a regional round and advanced onto the finals, taking home a fourth-place finish against longtime pizza makers from around the globe.

“I didn’t know about the presentation part of it, and there were a lot of guys there who have competed before,” he said. “Next time, I’ll know.”

More than 6,400 people attended the event, which featured more than 900 booths extending across the equivalent of 5 ¼ football fields, the expo website said.

The fifth annual International Pizza Challenge was held in traditional and nontraditional divisions, the site said. Only 65 contestants were accepted for each category. Pies were judged on crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, overall taste and visual presentation.

Andrew scored 62 out of 70 possible points.

The Long Island native credits his win with the simple, but great-tasting recipe he and his brother, Matthew Carrabba, created together in the family’s kitchen before the younger brother’s death last fall.

Matthew Carrabba, 21, died Sept. 9, 2010, in a car crash on Burnt Church Road. He was a 2007 graduate of Hilton Head Christian Academy and in the University of South Carolina Beaufort class of 2011. He also was a running back on his high school’s 2006 state championship football team.

“We were close, really close,” said Andrew Carrabba one day last week at the family’s restaurant, Paulie’s Coal Fired Pizza in Berkeley Place. “Me and my brother were going to go last year to compete, but then everything happened. ... This year I wanted to make an effort to go out. I wanted to go out there because of him.”

The pizza joint is named for the youngest of the five Carrabba brothers, Paulie. The two oldest brothers, Brandon, 31, and Vincent, 35, live in New Jersey. Angelo, 15, lives here with mom and dad, Angelo Sr. and Carolyn.

The family’s coal-fired passion heated up while Andrew was still in high school. He knew he wanted to open a pizza parlor, according to Angelo Carrabba Sr.

“He told everyone that that’s what he wanted to do, and that’s exactly what happened,” he said.

Paulie’s had a little bit of a rough go after it initially opened, like many new restaurants, but since then, people have come to enjoy and seek out the Italian cooking. Andrew Carraba said he plans to open a second location in the old Prescott’s restaurant location on Hilton Head Island’s south end, not too far from the Pope Avenue traffic circle.

“I hope to turn it into a chain,” he said. “That was me and my brother’s dream.”

Angelo Carrabba Sr. suggests the ravioli.

“We have people who come and get two orders, one to eat here and one to take home,” he said.

On a Thursday afternoon after the lunch rush, the restaurant quieted, but the coal-fired oven remained hot, with several pies baking in 800 degrees.

“The faster you bake at a high temperature, the better,” Andrew said. “If you bake it for a long time, the ingredients lose their freshness.”

Andrew said he and his brother worked on creating a great-tasting crust and also focused on the toppings for the award-winning Paulie’s signature pizza.

The sauce is a little sweet, thanks to a tomato puree, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and pecorino Romano cheese “which adds a little bit more of a kick to it,” Andrew said. “Keep it simple. It tastes better that way.”

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